Saturday, March 14, 2009

China's economy: Yes, prime minister

China faces daunting problems, but Wen Jiabao makes it clear that transparency is not the answer

IN HIS first state-of-the-nation speech since the global economic slump began battering China late last year, Wen Jiabao, the prime minister, painted a grim picture of the troubles ahead. With the help of massive government spending, China was still aiming for economic growth of 8% this year, he said on Thursday March 5th. But he revealed few new ideas about how this is to be managed.

At the opening of the annual session of China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress (NPC), Mr Wen said that China was facing “unprecedented difficulties”. But his speech revealed nothing of any stimulus plans beyond the 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) in spending announced in November last year. Vain hopes for a new package had helped briefly to buoy global stockmarkets. ...